It's Nothing
by HotCrossPigeon
Summary: The Tenth Doctor gets ill, what can Rose and Jack do when the TARDIS is on the blink and they're stuck with a disgruntled Jackie Tyler?
1. Forgive me

_Here we go: a Tenth Doctor, Rose and Jack story with some Jackie here and there and anything else that might crop up. _

_Summary: Yes the Doctor gets ill, yes some type of aliens are probably going to be after him, yes they're back in London as usual, and yes Captain Jack is back for no apparent reason at all. (I like his character, so sue me. Let's just say they get him back after the Christmas invasion or some such other meaningless plot alteration that nobody cares about.) _

_Disclaimer: I don't own it, darn! I only own the smidgen of plot and any spelling mistakes/bad grammar that I've missed. Enjoy! _

_(thanks to _TheLoneliest Dalek_, for finding a mistake for me.)_

…

…

The Doctor was sat in the library on a leather sofa, legs curled underneath him and nose hidden in a book. Rose and Jack had long since gone to bed, and once again he marveled out how much sleep they needed.

They'd only had the usual uneventful day of being chased around by homicidal aliens, getting caught, locked up, nearly executed, uncovering a wildly insane plot to take over the planet, getting caught again, escaping due to some strategically placed man-sized air vents, jumping off a cliff, hitching a ride on a humpback water-pigeon's back and legging it back to the Tardis.

Oh well, he could muse on the frailty of the human body later, right now there was more time to catch up on his reading. He pushed his glasses up his nose.

"No Charlotte," he muttered, eyes skimming the page, "That guy's not your father; he's an axe-wielding maniac in disguise!" the Doctor frowned. Hmm now, he definitely wouldn't have this type of lame horror in the Tardis library. "This must be one of Rose's books." He reasoned, flicking through the book absently, eyes widening as he uncovered a rather rowdy scene involving handcuffs and a rubber duck a couple of pages in. "Oops, my mistake, it's Jack's."

Plonking the book down the sofa, he got up and stretched. Maybe he'd tinker about the Tardis for a while; it had been a while since he'd done some well earned maintenance on her.

As he walked through the corridors to the console room, a dull ache started in the back of his cranium and the lights above his head started to flicker. The Doctor frowned, that certainly wasn't supposed to happen. He quickened his pace, hands deep in the pockets of his trousers, as the Tardis gave an unexpected jolt beneath his feet.

"What is it old girl?" The Tardis groaned in reply, tilting precariously. Not good, not good at all.

The console room was lit dimly as he strode in, giving the walls a sickly grey colour as sparks flew haphazardly out of the console itself. The Doctor gawked at it for a moment - what on the space time continuum was happening? "No no no," he started, propelling himself over to it and caressing the metal fondly.

He didn't even look up as he heard the familiar padding of feet into the room.

"Jack?" That was Rose's voice, sounding a bit flustered if he did say so himself.

"Yeah, is that you Rose?" Jack answered.

"No, it's the Doctor."

"Really? Sounds a bit feminine."

"I was being sarcastic. Jack, what's happened to the lights?"

"I dunno, maybe - _Ow!_"

"Are we landing somewhere?"

"Rose, you just stood on my foot!"

"Well sorry! I couldn' see where I was going – _Ow! Jack!"_

"Neither could I."

A dull clanging could be heard; the cloister bell. The Doctor tried to drown it out with his own voice, "Just keep calm!" he bellowed.

His companions immediately quietened, feeling a little embarrassed. Rose's bare feet padded across the grate. "Doctor is that you? What's wrong with the lights?"

The Doctor scanned the console panel, face paling with every flick of his eyes across the screen. "Oh no," he muttered, whipping out the sonic screwdriver and buzzing the blue glow around a flooring panel. It popped open and he lowered himself into it, immediately immersing himself in the multicoloured wires sprouting out around him.

"What is it?" Rose asked, arms folded as she felt the coldness through the thin fabric of her pyjamas, "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing." He grunted, quick fingers sorting through the cables, "Don't worry I'll handle it."

Jack knelt beside the hole, watching the frantic Timelord with concern, "Can I help Doc?"

"No I - I'll be fine." Came his distant voice from the grate.

"Well what's wrong with the Tardis?"

"Nothing."

"You call getting thrown out of bed in the middle of the night, when you're in the throws of the most _amazing_ dream, nothing?"

"It _is_ nothing Jack, just a malfunction. I'll have the lights back on in a second then you can all hop back off to your rooms and leave me to figure this out."

"Figure _what_ out?"

"There!' he announced proudly, the lights flickering back on with a resonating hum. "That should do it." The Timelord ran a hand through his already chaotic hair, and stuck out a hand which Jack soon grasped, pulling him back out of the floor. He blinked dark eyes at them, and clapped his hands together with a smile, "Well come on now, we've had a long day. Back to bed with you, I don't want to put up with grumpy humans come tomorrow."

"Are you sure you don't want me to help?"

"No Jack, I can see you're tired, we had a long day. I just need to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow and we'll be back on track." Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow, that was a good one.

To his relief they conceded; Jack inspecting him a little longer than usual before retreating to his room, and Rose giving him a tired smile. She looked so innocent in those pyjamas, he wondered if he'd made the right decision taking her along with him all that time ago. What happened when he wasn't there to protect her… and who had flying sheep on their nightclothes anyway?

He waited a full five minutes after he heard their doors click shut, before lowering himself back into the hole in the Tardis' flooring. His poor ship.

There was something seriously wrong with her, he'd known it the minute the warning flashed up onto the screen, Gallifreyan symbols wavering in front of him just as the alarm bells went off in his head. She'd contracted a virus, where from he didn't know, but her systems were failing quickly. She was dying.

"Come on old girl; don't give up on me now." The Tardis groaned in reply, it was all she could do to keep the lights on, and his companions safe in their rooms. The wires sparked and fizzed under his skillful fingertips as he worked. "Ow," he murmured, sucking a burned digit with a frown. "I know you're hurting, but I'm trying to help."

He could almost hear her in his mind. _There's nothing you can do_. The lights dimmed again, and she whimpered and beeped around him. "No, no, you're going to be fine." He told her soothingly, but she wasn't. He knew she wasn't. They were falling through space and time, her engines failing around him, and he didn't know what to do.

The lights dimmed further, and he found himself hoping that Jack and Rose were asleep by now and hadn't noticed. He placed a gentle hand against her, reaching out with his mind. She retreated first, backing away from him as if knowing what he was trying to do.

But it was he only thing that could work. It was either lose the Tardis and risk his companions lives or…

He breathed out, preparing himself, "Forgive me old girl."

…

"Doctor?" Jack poked his head around another corner of the Tardis, "I knew he was acting off last night." he grumbled to himself. He'd woken up later than usual, realising that he must've been tired last night. And not for the usual reason either, it was all that running they'd been doing. Jack wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, not the sort of exercise he enjoyed most.

He'd clambered out of bed and gone looking for the Doctor. He'd been too exhausted last night to make argue with him about the Tardis. If something was wrong, he wanted to know about it.

The Timelord wasn't in his room, or the kitchen, or the bathrooms, or, at first glance, the console room. Jack checked Rose's bedroom, occasionally if Rose had a bad dream during the night the Doctor would keep her company for a while. But he could only see her still form curled up in bed, a tuft of blonde hair poking out of the top of her duvet. He smiled a little, and closed the door before the pale sliver of light from outside could disturb her from her sleep.

Backpedaling into the console room, he remembered the hole in the flooring was still open. The Doctor could still be tinkering away. He peered into the hole, squinting slightly as his eyes adjusted to the light.

There he was, curled up at the bottom as if he'd fallen amongst the spray of colourful wires, eyes closed and dark hair standing out starkly against his pale skin. Jack swallowed. "Doctor?" No movement. Not even a flicker of an eyelid.

He shouldn't have left the Timelord alone - he knew there was something wrong last night, why did he have to leave him on his own? Jack shook his head, pushing back the unhelpful thoughts and clambering inside, dropping amongst the cables as the Doctor had done. He knelt hastily, tapping the Timelord's pale face with insistent hands. "Doc?" he pleaded, "Come on, wake up!"

To his surprise the Doctor opened his eyes, blinking dark foggy orbs up at him as he tried to get his bearings. "Jack?" he muttered tiredly, frowning at his surroundings, "Where..? "

Jack's heart fluttered, "Let me help you up Doc."

"… must have fallen asleep." The Doctor got unsteadily to his feet, with Jack's help. Jack watched him intently for any sign that he was anything but fine, keeping a steadying hand on his arm. "Forget I need to sleep sometimes." He said as way of explanation then brushed off the subject before Jack could even ask.

The switch was so fast, one minute the Doctor was vulnerable and exhausted, and the next - "So, fancy some breakfast?" the Timelord grinned, practically jumping out of the hole and smiling down at Jack's startled face as he offered him a hand, "Well don't stay down there all day, it's bad luck to leave a gaping hole in the Tardis you know."

"You think?" said Jack, clambering out of the hole with a little less grace than the Doctor had done. It was still early in the morning after all.

The Doctor ignored him, "Now what do you fancy? Toast? Bit of toast and butter? Smidge of Jam? Eggs? Scrambled, boiled or fried, omeletted, pouched or whatever else you can do with an egg... Bacon? An English muffin? Orange juice? Yoghurt? Pancakes?" he took a breath, waving his hands around, "Or Cereal? Some tea maybe? Porridge? Melon balls? Coffee?"

Jack blinked, "Doc, are you all right?"

"Perfectly!" The Doctor defended with a frown; his feathers as ruffled as his hair, "Now come on Jackie Jack Jack, I fancy some marmalade."

Jack could do nothing but stare dumbfoundedly after the Doctor as he disappeared into the kitchen. _Jackie Jack Jack?_ The ex time agent shook his head. He ought to make sure the Timelord didn't have anything too sugary for breakfast.

…

…

_Drop me a review if you'd like me to continue (__this is my first Who fic). Some Tenth Doctor pain coming up… just to warn you. Sorry for the short chapter and thanks for reading! _


	2. Vulnerability and Viruses

_Wow, I've never had so many reviews for a first chapter before, thanks so much! Of course I'm going to continue, I just hope I haven't let you all down with this chapter. I've got my GCSEs coming up soon, so, well… I'll try to update anyway._

_Right: so Rose, Jack and the shifty looking Doctor are going to stop off somewhere familiar – bet you can guess where from the summary - and here comes the aforementioned Tenth Doctor pain. Enjoy, and feel free to tell me how I'm doing._

…

…

"So where are we going then?" Rose asked, leaning on the Tardis hand rail with a yawn. She'd been woken in the morning at a ridiculously early time by the Doctor waltzing into her room and jumping on her bed with his face covered in what appeared to be marmalade. She'd squealed; thinking the Tardis was being attacked by aliens and the Doctor had been gunked all over. That was until Jack had barged through the door, panting, with the jar in his hand, explaining that he hadn't quite got to the kitchen in time.

Rose still hadn't the foggiest what they were on about… Maybe it was better that way.

Now however the Doctor seemed a little more subdued; he stood facing away from her, and gazing forlornly at the column as it rose and fell. Maybe he hadn't had enough sleep last night after the Tardis had acted up. She knew how he got when he was worried about her; he'd probably stayed up all night. Rose smiled; remembering one night when she'd wandered out of bed for some hot chocolate and found him reading Shakespearian sonnets to the console. Did he even need to sleep? There was a time when she'd thought he was indestructible, but now, looking at him through concerned hazel eyes, she wasn't so sure.

For once it seemed he didn't mind Rose watching him, absently mumbling to her as if he were focused completely on the Tardis controls, "How about a visit to your mums Rose? We haven't been for a while, I'm sure she's missing you."

"Are you sure?" Rose asked, watching the Timelord as he randomly flicked switches and buttons, the Tardis bleeping at him in annoyance, "Won't you mind?"

He stopped, turning around to face her with that crooked smile, "'Course not! Besides, she hasn't met Jack yet has she? It's always nice to get people acquainted. The Tardis needs a little rest as well." He rubbed the console affectionately, Rose thought she could detect a hint of sadness as he spoke, "But she'll be better soon enough."

"See, take a shower and miss all the action," said Jack, striding into the room with a towel wrapped around the lower half of his body. "Planning things without me are you?" Rose blushed at the sight of his damp chest as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

The Doctor tutted. "Jack, I thought I told you no walking around half naked in the console room! The Tardis is a sensitive old girl you know, and there you are dripping water all over her."

He grinned, readjusting the towel slightly, "Sorry Doctor, I thought you enjoyed it."

"Well I don't, now go and get changed. We're going to visit Rose's mother and - so help me - you're going to act like a normal man."

"Normal?" the ex time agent repeated, ruffling his dampened hair with a spare towel. Rose assumed he was trying to get it to dry, but all he was succeeding in doing was making it stick up at an unholy number of angles. Just like the Doctors'. "Where's the fun in being normal?"

"Lots of fun. Oodles of it. Anyway, you don't have to be _entirely_ normal - just wear something decent, act a little less _raunchy_ than usual and you should be fine, although where Jackie's concerned you don't really know what's going to happen. She can love you one minute and slap you so hard you think a bull's just hit you the next… well… I suppose a bull _has_ just hit you really."

"Oi!" Rose said, breaking free of Jack to hit the Timelord on the arm.

The Doctor grinned twirling on his feet, and pattering his fingers over some more buttons on the Tardis. Then a frown found its way onto his face, and he stopped suddenly. Turning to regard his companions with a serious expression, "Wait a minute… did I just say 'raunchy'?"

Rose laughed. He couldn't have looked more ridiculous.

"Yeah you did! You called me raunchy," said Jack, with a quirk of his eyebrows, "And I _liked_ it."

"Remind me why we picked him up again?" the Doctor asked Rose, jerking a thumb at the other man with a sigh.

She merely shrugged, "I dunno, you were the one who wanted him."

A triumphant grin sprouted on Jacks' face, "I knew it, you wanted me Doc!"

The Timelord pointed a threatening finger at him, almost as if he could wipe the grin off, "I told you before, you've got to buy me a drink first... _And_ because I've regenerated I think I'm entitled to a rubber duck as well, and some of that ginger stuff you get with sushi, ooh, and a yacht – a _really_ big one!"

Jack folded his arms, "Anything else?"

The Doctor nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, you can go and get something in the way of decent clothes on - Shoo! Go on, change. _Now_. There's no way in hell I'm introducing a half-naked man to Rose's mum."

…

With a wheezing groan, the Tardis materialised somewhat reluctantly at Jackie's flat, rocking slightly as she landed.

"We're here already?"

The Doctor smiled at Rose as she emerged from her room, tugging at her jacket harmlessly as she caught sight of him. "Yep," he answered, "now let's go get introduced and then you can get all your… stuff." He'd informed Rose that they'd be staying a little longer than usual, if she thought it was out of the ordinary she said nothing, agreeing to pack a few of her clothes.

"I can move it now if you want, save the trip."

"What trip?" he said innocently.

Rose peered at the Tardis monitor the Doctor was gesturing discreetly at. The view of her mother's living room peered back. "Doctor," she bit her lip, eyes wide, "mum's gonna have a fit! You can't land in the middle of the flat – are you looking for a slap?"

The Doctor waved her off, "Oh, it really doesn't matter. I just, you know, I just, I want the Tardis nearby - Now, where's Jack got to?" he tilted his head back, "Jack!"

"Coming!" Said man jogged into the console room, brushing himself down. "Sorry, the Tardis didn't want me to find the wardrobe for some reason… can't think why, seeing as she _hates_ me walking around naked…" He pulled on his jacket, turning around to give them the full view of the outfit he'd picked out. "So, what d'you think?"

"Ooh," said Rose, sticking her tongue between her teeth, "You look a bit snazzy."

Jack wiggled his eyebrows, "That's a compliment right?"

The Doctor snorted, "Come on now; let's get out of here before Jackie forces her way in." He went over to the doors, converse tapping a little slower than usual over the grated floor. Grasping the door firmly he pulled, but to his annoyance they refused to open. His stupid, stubbornly loyal ship. A sheepish smile made its way onto his face, and he said quietly, pleadingly, "Come on old girl, let me out."

"What's wrong Doctor?"

His head whipped around to see Jack and Rose gazing at him expectantly, "Ah nothing, must be the aftereffects of last night's malfunction." He pulled harder with an obviously forced grin, and the Tardis shuddered beneath their feet. "Err, Rose, wouldn't mind opening the door would you?"

Rose frowned a little, yanking the door open and expecting it to resist. But it didn't. The door swung open with ease and the Doctor ducked through without a word.

He put a hand to his head with a sigh, stepping out of the Tardis with his coat swinging around his ankles. It was too soon for anyone to know – in fact, maybe they didn't have to know at all. He could disappear for a few days and come back as though nothing had happened. That was… if he was capable of coming back. What if he couldn't? Jack and Rose wouldn't know what had happened; they'd think he'd abandoned them. No. He couldn't, they didn't deserve that.

So immersed in his thoughts was he, the Doctor almost didn't notice when he came face to face with the rather disgruntled looking Jackie Tyler.

He almost ran back inside the Tardis.

"Jackie!" Resisting the urge, barely, the Timelord treated Rose's mother to a wide albeit slightly nervous grin, "Hello, how nice to see you! It's so lovely to see you, I'm so pleased to… see you." Then he heroically dodged her hug and ran to the safety of the sofa.

Rose rolled her eyes, enveloping her mother in a tight hug and smiling. "Aww, I missed you mum."

"Missed you too Darlin', he's been treating you all right has he?"

Jack stepped out behind the mother and daughter as they broke apart, closing the Tardis doors behind him. "Well hello, who's this attractive young lady?" he asked, all smiles and charm. Jackie fell for him immediately. No change there, the Doctor mused to himself, she'd probably fall for anything on two legs. Even someone kept random fruit produce in his dressing gown.

He looked up at Jack who appeared to be milking the moment for all it was worth. Well, if he couldn't act normal he could certainly lie through his teeth. Jackie Tyler, an attractive young lady? He bit his lip to fight the grin from his face.

Rose fixed the Doctor with a glare, pulling Jack closer, "Mum, this is Captain Jack Harkness. He's traveling with the Doctor and me."

Jack stood forward, taking Jackie's hand and giving it a light kiss with his head ducked. "It's a pleasure Ms. Tyler."

"Oh," the Doctor shook his head in fascination as Jackie blushed. "Well he seems a lovely young man, doesn't he Rose? Unlike someone else I could mention."

The Doctor sighed, here we go, into defensive mode, "Oi, I brought your daughter back didn't I?"

"Yeah - showing up in my flat without even a phone call to warn me." She put her hands on her hips and wagged her finger at the Tardis, "You can't leave that thing in here!"

"I'll move it later." Mumbled the Doctor, making himself comfortable on the sofa.

"Move it now! What if someone comes over? How'm I gonna explain a big blue box in the middle of my living room?"

The Doctor shrugged, "Say you bought it off eBay or something. People'll believe anything these days."

"Just move it!"

"I will… she's tired, let her rest for a bit and I'll move her later." He plonked his converse on the tabletop with a sigh, "Anyway, Rose needs to get her stuff first."

For the first time in a long while, Jackie actually looked pleased, "Stuff?"

Rose nodded, "Yeah, the Doctor said I can stay a bit longer than usual, if that's all right Mum."

"Course it is love! You know I'm happy to have you. And," she looked over to Jack, a little less than discreetly, "if anyone else wants to stay here, we've got an extra room…"

Rose raised her eyebrows, fighting back a laugh. "You mean the Doctor can stay?" then she opened the Tardis doors and stepped inside, her voice floating back to them, "Won't be a mo mum!"

Jack followed her in, winking at the Doctor as he did so, "Hey, _I'll_ help you with you things Rose."

"See, like a proper Gentleman." Jackie muttered as the Doctor sighed behind her. Well it wasn't his fault. If he went back inside the Tardis she'd most likely not let him out again. "Where'd you pick him up from then?" Jackie was saying.

"Well, originally he's from Fifty-first century earth…" he answered, passing a tired hand over his eyes. Jackie turned to him, waiting for more but he didn't carry on.

"Why'd you come see little old me?" she asked suddenly, he could feel the sofa shift to accommodate her weight as she sat beside him. "You haven't been gone long and Rose doesn't get home sick that quickly."

"The Tardis needed a rest."

"Hmm, and so did _you_ by the looks of it." She admonished, "you should be looking after yourself better. If something happens to you, what's Rose going to do? I know you've got that Jack with you, and he's bloomin' gorgeous if you don't mind me saying, but he's not _you_ is he?"

Same old argument, same old answers. Although he was secretly pleased that Jackie actually seemed to be showing some concern towards him, "I won't let anything happen to Rose Jackie, you know that." He couldn't help the frown that creased his forehead as the headache he'd had since this morning sent a jolt of pain into his skull.

And he knew this was just the beginning, Jackie didn't know how right she was. Something was happening to him, and he'd done the best thing he could think of. He'd taken Rose home, back to Jackie.

The headache worsened and he moved up a hand to cradle his head with a low sigh.

"Ooh love, you _are_ looking a bit peaky." Jackie said, sitting forward to place a hand on his forehead before he could jerk away, "You're a bit warm too."

"Warm?" asked Jack, ducking through the Tardis doors with Rose in tow. The Doctor groaned, that's all he needed, if Jack knew that Rose's crazed mother thought he was a 'bit warm' he'd realise there was something wrong with him. Gallifreyan body temperatures were much lower than humans, for Jackie to think a Time lord was warm, even in the _least_ bit…

"It's the Doctor," Jackie carried on, "he's a bit hot."

Jack dumped Rose's belongings on an empty chair, the usual flirtatious grin lighting up his features, "Tell me something I don't know."

"I meant I think he's got a feve-"

"I'm fine Jackie," the Doctor butted in merrily, much more than he felt, hoping a good old ramble (something that came easier in this regeneration), would be able to gloss over the health topic. He didn't need their concern. "Must be all that tea. You are what you eat after all – or drink in this case, stands to reason that I'll turn into a lovely steamy cup of tea before too long… I think I was one once before actually, something went wrong with the Tardis' invibilitators and then this giant orangutan stole my pyjamas! … Actually," he reasoned with a quirk of his eyebrows, "that _may_ have been a dream."

Good, from the look on Jack's, Rose's and Jackie's faces they seemed pretty stumped.

"So, eh, Jackie… any chance of a cuppa?"

"Well," she grumbled, "if you're not ill, you can go and get one yourself!"

Typical stubborn female, well he knew how to deal with those. He turned his pleading eyes on her, deep dark innocent pools of melted chocolate, "Oh, go on Jackie." His bottom lip pouted out, and he knew no woman alive could resist, "_Pleeease_?"

That just proved his theory; Jackie Tyler wasn't a woman after all. She huffed, folding her arms and blowing a stray strand of peroxide blonde hair from her eyes, "You think those gorgeous puppy eyes are gonna work? I did bring up Rose you know."

Rose grinned, looking up from her bags which she was currently rummaging through, "Dunno what you mean!" To hell she didn't. Many a time the Doctor had been foxed by Rose and her puppy impressions. _"Oh go on Doctor, I know you'll look good in pink!" "But I need those shoes, I need them!" "Can we have chips again? Just this once, please?"_

"Well fine," said the Doctor, looking up at Jack who stood watching his and Jackie's banter with a bemused expression. He'd get used to the endless arguing soon, no doubt. With a breath, he hoisted himself up off the sofa, "We've made progress; at least she admitted I've got gorgeous eyes."

The cheeky grin on his face shrank however as soon as he stood up. A wave of dizziness came up it greet him and he only just managed to catch himself on the side of the armchair.

"Doctor?"

He vaguely registered the world tilting around him and some familiar worried faces sloping into view before his knees buckled. _No, no, too soon_. He hit the floor, the carpet soft and cool beneath the fabric of his trousers. "Whoops." He slurred, covering his eyes and waiting for the flat to right itself around him.

Rose was at his side in an instant, hands on his shoulders and pushing him back to lean against the sofa, "Doctor? What is it, what's wrong?"

"Nothing I can't handle." He gasped.

"You can't even stand!"

"Can too." He tried unsuccessfully to spring back to his feet to further prove his point, but just managed to fall over fully. Sliding to the floor, rather gracefully he thought, for the pounding behind his eyes. This was happening too soon. "Could uh…" he mumbled tiredly into the carpet, "could someone help me back onto the sofa?"

Strong arms lifted him up to the couch, but he didn't open his eyes. It was Jack no doubt; he could feel the strong muscles tense around his own arms, lifting him up as if he were made of gossamer and about to break any second. He didn't look that bad did he?

"I'll go make some tea." Jackie's voice said helpfully.

He opened his eyes to give Jackie a cheeky grin, wincing at the sudden sharp pains needling into his cranium. She gave him a half smile back, and disappeared into the kitchen. Well at least he'd gotten a cup of tea out of her. It had only taken his best puppy dog impression and a half-collapse onto her carpet; maybe he should try his luck more often.

Another cooling hand felt its way onto his forehead. His dark eyes slid shut and he let out a breath of gratitude at the cold touch.

"Doctor, you're burning up! Even for a human, that's pretty hot." The American tones were thick with worry. No, he didn't want them to worry. He never wanted them to worry.

"Jack," he mumbled. How could he tell them this without them wanting to strangle him? Start out slowly, maybe. He'd probably handle this better if the world would stop spinning. "I… I took us here for a reason."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked sharply. Okay, the Doctor breathed, they'd got angry at _that_ part. And he hadn't even started yet.

"I wanted you to be somewhere safe, somewhere familiar when I got like this. I'm sorry, I thought it would be for the best."

"What? You mean you _knew_ you were going to be sick?" Rose intervened, "And you didn't even bother telling us?! You wanted to dump us on my mum incase…"

"Incase you didn't get better." Jack finished quietly.

The Doctor smiled exhaustedly, "Knew why I liked you two, sharp as they come."

Rose was livid. "You stupid – stupid man!"

"Time lord," the Doctor corrected unhelpfully.

"Call yourself what you like! You're still an idiot!" She had tears in her eyes as her fingers smoothed back his hair from his forehead, "What happened to you?" she asked quietly.

"The Tardis was sick. She must have contracted a virus from somewhere, I don't know." His throat felt dry and he swallowed, moving his dark eyes to the floor, a sad smile finding its way onto his face, "She was dying, so I took it instead. Timelords are better equipped at handling this sort of thing."

"Yeah, and look what it's done to you!" Rose countered, eyes hot with anger and concern.

Now that wasn't fair. This was the only thing he could have done. Didn't they understand? "It was either this, or lose the Tardis. And I… I can't ever lose her Rose. Besides, I'll get better, I promise. Just need to… to…" he blinked tiredly, rubbing his forehead. What was he saying? Was he saying something? Oh Rassilon, his head…

"You just need to?" Jack prompted.

"Rest. For a bit. And I'll be right as snow… or is it rain..?" he mumbled softly, eyes glazing over, "it's raining… it's pouring…"

Jack moved behind the ailing Timelord, putting his arms under the Doctors'. They had to get him somewhere safer. Who knew what kind of virus the Doctor had picked up? Maybe there was something in the Tardis databanks that could help.

The Doctor continued to murmur, softer and almost like a child would, to keep away the ghouls of the night, "he went to bed and bumped his head…"

Jack had never seen him like this. So unlike the Doctor, so… vulnerable. For all the Timelord's gift of the gab, this was one thing that words were no good for. He looked over at Rose, who looked just as petrified as he felt. Her face was white and eyes reddened from crying. She'd told him the Doctor had been sick at Christmas, but everything had worked out. He'd regenerated, she'd said. Was there a chance that could happen again?

"Come on then," He told the bedraggled Timelord with a lot more cheerfulness than he felt, "let's get you back to the Tardis." Rose got the message, and went to support the Doctor as Jack lifted him up. But the Timelord sagged between them, leaning on Jack's back heavily and bringing them both back to the floor.

"No," he objected breathily, "I can't go back to the Tardis – she'd take back the virus. I can't – You can't -" he swallowed, "Just leave me here, I'll be fine."

"Leave you here?"

"Yep," the Doctor's eyes slid closed and Jack could feel the erratic beats of his hearts through the snug material of his Jacket, "please."

Jack hooked an arm under the Doctor's knees and stood, staggering slightly under the Gallifreyan's weight, the Doctor protesting feebly into his shirt, "Rosie, don't suppose you've got a bed free for him have you? Seems a shame to mess up the carpet."

…..

….

_Cheers for reading guys. Leave a review if you like x_


	3. Fever

_Thanks for the reviews, it means a lot to me to get feedba__ck. I'm in the Gcse couple of weeks now, so don't hold your breath for an update. But, my god, I just watched 42 and it got me back writing this. Go David Tennant! _

…

…

Rose watched anxiously as Jack set the Doctor down gently on her bed; from the slow steadiness of his breathing she guessed he'd fallen asleep. Fallen asleep or just blacked out from it all. He was so pale, and in the feeble bulb light of her room she could see the thin film of sweat on his forehead.

He had a fever all right, but could they risk giving him anything for it? He'd told her once that human medicine didn't agree with him. Something like aspirin, or was it paracetemol… Oh this was hopeless, if he'd just wake up and tell them what he needed, tell her how she could help – but no, he'd gone and collapsed and left them alone. Stupid, stupid, ignorant _alien_!

She put a hand to her head, slumping slightly. What was she thinking, she wasn't angry with him. Maybe it was easier to be angry when there was nothing else she could do.

She wanted so badly to get on the bed beside him and curl her arms protectively around his chest to take away the pain. There was no way she was going to let anything else hurt him.

"What do we do now?" Rose asked quietly.

Jack didn't know how to answer her, she knew from the way his eyes flicked worryingly over to the Doctor and back to her; instead he just took her hand in his and gave it a small squeeze.

"I'm guessin' he doesn't want any tea then," said Jackie, holding two mugs of the steamy liquid, as she poked her head around the door. She sighed as she saw the bedraggled Time lord lying on top of the duvet. "I told him he was looking a bit peaky but he was 'aving none of it!"

Jack slipped an arm around Rose's waist and cuddled her close. "He'll get better though, you know what he's like."

"Yeah, tough as old boots." muttered Jackie, handing him a mug, "Let's try and give him some tea, Rose. Worked the last time didn't it?"

Rose nodded numbly, taking the tea after wiping at her eyes frustratedly to get rid of the tears. "We need to wake him up to drink it." She said, hating the way her voice cracked slightly, betraying her worry.

"Well, I'm not doing it," Jackie said, frowning, "I don't want a cranky alien on my hands!"

Rose tried to smile at her other's attempt at lightening the situation, but all she managed was a quirk of her lips before she clambered onto the bed beside the resting Doctor, careful so as not to spill the tea. "Doctor?" She brushed a hand against his burning forehead, "I've got some tea, wakey wakey." There was no response, so she set the mug down on the bedside table and patted his face lightly with the palm of her hand, "Come on Doctor, if you're lucky Mum might even get you some biscuits." The Doctor's head lolled onto the pillow, eyes closed, skin beyond pale, "chocolate digestives?" Rose pleaded shakily.

There was a comforting hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Jack's consoling gaze, "Let's leave him for a bit Rose, I'm sure he's just conked out. Must be exhausted."

"Yeah," she mumbled, biting her lip, "You're right." He had to be right.

"It's getting late love," Jackie said, "why don't we all get some sleep? He'll probably be fine come tomorrow, annoying the hell out of us as usual."

Rose laughed a little and nodded, tucking her legs underneath her as she sat on the bed. "Mum, d'ya mind if I kip here tonight… in this room?" she glanced at the Doctor, who looked positively dwarfed in the massive bed and duvet cover, "Just to keep an eye on him you know."

Jackie gave her daughter an understanding smile, "No funny business mind, I'll make up a bed for you."

"And uh if it's not too much hassle," Jack said, with an exaggerated yawn and stretch of his arms, "I'll take the sofa. Haven't roughed it in a while, so it should be fun."

Rose hugged her arms, she knew that Jack meant that he didn't want to leave the Doctor. She almost wanted him to stay with her, stay with her and the Doctor and make everything okay. He'd be just down the hall.

"You can have my room if you like." Jackie smiled, taking Jack's cup of finished tea off him and accidentally brushing his fingers.

"Oh, I couldn't do that."

"Yes you could."

"And put a lovely lady like yourself out of a nice warm bed?"

"… Who said you were putting me out?"

Rose widened her eyes and turned to the pair of them. "Mum!"

"All right," Jackie said with a roll of her eyes, "I'll go get you a duvet."

…

The alarm clock next to her bed read '2:53am' in block red numbers, it was the only light, buzzing softly in the gloom, but for a sliver of moonlight that fell from the window.

Rose sighed, pulling the duvet around her shoulders and trying not to doze off. She could hear Jackie's snoring through the thin wall to her right, and Jack's soft breathing from the sofa down the hall. The Doctor didn't seem to make a noise at all, and she lay on the floor gazing at his still form as if willing his chest to keep up its steady rise and fall motion.

The darkness layered everything with a fuzzy mist, and for a spilt second Rose thought the Doctor's chest had stopped moving completely. Her heart sped up and she sat up with a jolt.

"Doctor?" she whispered fretfully.

Her eyes adjusted slightly and she could see the pyjamas they'd managed to dress him in hitch with his slow breathing. Jack had taken delight in being the only male, and so he claimed, the only one with the right to dress the Doctor into pyjamas. Much to Jackie's disappointment, he'd managed to change the unresisting Timelord while she was helping to make up the beds.

Rose settled back into the make-shift bed with a relieved sigh. This was silly, he was going to be fine - he was _always_ fine.

And yet deep down, she knew that he wasn't.

Her eyelids drooped and she covered her mouth as a yawn escaped her. She didn't want to fall asleep, she couldn't, what if the Doctor needed her during the night? What if he stopped breathing? What if he woke up and she wasn't there to comfort him? What if… What if…?

She snuggled her head into the pillow, eyes closing all of their own accord. The last thing she saw before sleep smothered her was the Doctor turn his head slightly towards her. His forehead crinkled faintly as he took in a deep breath.

And then she drifted off.

Rose swore she'd only let her eyes close for a few seconds, a few seconds, that was all! But when she woke up, sprawled next to the Doctor's bed with the duvet coiled around her legs, the morning sun was already filtering through her window.

Maybe today they could find out just what exactly the Doctor was suffering from. She and Jack could take a look into the Tardis, even without the grumpy Timelord's permission.

Rose ran a hand through the tangles in her hair, and stood up hastily, rubbing at her eyes. She turned to take a look at herself in the mirror. Just as she thought, a night on the floor hadn't done her any good. She needed a shower, desperately.

Frowning at the bags under her eyes she was about to traipse off to the bathroom when she caught sight of the bed behind her in the mirror. The bed that should have had a resting Timelord in it. The bed that should have had a resting Timelord in it, but didn't. She swore, spinning around to see that the bed was indeed empty; the sheets twisted and crumpled, with no sign of the Doctor anywhere.

"Jack!" she yelled.

…

"All right, just don't panic." Jack started calmly, although he felt anything but, "I'm sure we'll find him Rose. He can't have gone far."

"Someone must have taken him. He couldn't even stand on his own yesterday – Oh god Jack what if someone gave the Tardis a virus on _purpose_? What if they wanted the Doctor and we just left him in bed and now they've gone an' taken him away from us – he's ill for god's sake!"

"Wow Rose, just breathe!" Jack admonished, putting his hands on her shoulders to steady her, "I'll go look for him, and you stay here with Jackie."

Rose glowered at him, "No way. I'm coming too."

Jack did his best to look sympathetic, "Rose, as much as I'd love you to come with me around London dressed in flying sheep pyjamas…" Rose looked down at herself at that and blushed, "I think I can handle it."

Rose sighed frustratedly, of all the times to be wearing cute animal nightclothes. "Fine." She grumbled, "You go on ahead and I'll catch you up as soon as I'm changed."

"No problem, we'll be back before you know it." And then Jack was gone, the door to her bedroom swinging shut behind him with a soft click. Rose stood, hugging her arms for a moment and waiting for the slam of the front door.

The footsteps backpedaled, and she heard someone exhale noisily. And then her bedroom door opened again, much to her surprise.

She looked up, hazel eyes laced with confusion, "What is it? I could've been changing you know."

Jack regarded her with an amused expression, eyebrows raised, "Rose… Why didn't you think to check the kitchen?"

She followed him out, and low and behold, there was the cause of all the trouble. The Doctor was lying, back sloped against a cupboard door, eyes closed with a box of PG Tips clutched in his fingers. He looked so incredibly sweet that Rose couldn't help a small smile, "Looks like he was trying to make a cup of tea." she said to Jack, a little apologetically.

"The one on the bedside table was cold." The Doctor mumbled in response, eyes still closed, "had bits floating on top of it too… not pretty."

"Oh you're awake are you?" said Jack, "Rose was scared out of her wits thinking you'd been kidnapped. Get back into bed."

"Can't." His eyes opened for a minute; the dark orbs fever bright and shimmering. Jack's concern came back full blaze, for a moment the Doctor had acted like he usually would, but in the blink of an eye he was back to the vulnerable state. He wasn't even bothering to hide the flush in his cheeks, or the heave of his chest as he forced in another difficult breath. He just sat dejectedly on the kitchen floor, making no move to get back up. "Much… _much_ too hot…. Why is it so warm in here? Don't you primitive humans have air-conditioning?"

Yes they did have air conditioning, just not at this time in the morning. "Well if you'd let us take you back to the Tardis I'm sure she'll help you Doc." Jack's eyes pleaded, "We'll just get some medicine, just tell us which ones, and then we'll pop right back out again."

The Doctor laughed breathily, "No can do Captain, you can't get into the Tardis. I've hidden the keys!"

Jack knelt on the floor with a frustrated shake of his head, placing a hand on the other man's forehead and recoiling almost instantly in shock. "Rose, we've got to get his temperature down!"

Rose looked down at him confusedly, "What do you mean?"

Jack was stripping the Timelord of his nightshirt hurriedly, no time for pleasantries. The Doctor blinked groggily at him in distress - "… hey, what're you doing? Get your mitts off me…" - Any other time and Jack would've been glad to take off the Doctor's clothes, but in this situation nothing erotic even skimmed through his mind.

Well, nothing _too_ erotic, anyway.

"We've got to reduce his temperature – have you-" a hundred different scenarios spun through his head, and he grasped onto one desperately, "have you got a bath in this flat?" It was a long shot but they couldn't get into the Tardis thanks to the Doctor, it was probably the only thing they could do. In any case, it was the only thing he could think of.

"Yeah," Rose answered, confused, "why?"

"Go fill it with cold water. I'll be there in a minute."

Jack lifted the Timelord up as he had done the previous night, hoping that it wouldn't be a common occurrence. He was much heavier than he looked. The Doctor's skin burned against his and he hurried to the bathroom, stumbling slightly as the Doctor's hand came up to claw at his shirt.

"Jack," he heard him groan softly, fingers grasping his top as if it were a lifeline, "It _hurts_."

Rose had already filled the bath half full with cold water when he got there, and Jack didn't bother with the rest of the Doctor's clothes, dumping him into the tub and sloshing the cold water over him with cupped hands.

The Doctor opened his eyes drowsily, laughing as he wiggled a toe out of the water, "I'm in the bath…" he frowned, leaning his head against the side of the tub, "where's my duck?"

Jack didn't respond, turning the taps on by the Timelord's bent knees. More cold water. It needed to be colder.

"Rose, I'll be right back." He glanced up at her as she did her best to wring out a cold flannel, holding it against the Doctor's neck, then chest and shoulders in an attempt to quench the fever burning through his skin.

He gave her a reassuring smile then darted back to the kitchen. Something cold, something cold - the freezer! He heaved open the freezer door and yanked out the ice cube tray hurriedly, shards of ice spraying out at his fingers in his haste. There was a bag of frozen peas which he took too, but he didn't think Jackie would be too happy if he pinched anything else. They'd only just met after all.

He kicked the freezer door closed with a foot, biting his lip as the frozen objects bit into his skin and he ran back to the bathroom.

The Doctor was giggling now, splashing his long limbs in the undersized tub as Rose looked at him helplessly, "Whass that you've got there?" the Timelord slurred, breathing faster now, breath coming out in short gasps as his fever worsened. Jack couldn't tell whether that was sweat beading on his forehead or water. He hoped it was the latter.

"It's ice Doctor," he replied, getting down on his knees beside the bath and ignoring the puddles of water soaking into his trousers, "we're going to cool you down a bit."

"But I feel great, no ice for me," he gave Rose a winning smile, "Tegan wants some though, don't you? Tegan..?"

"Doctor, my name is _Rose_." Rose said smoothing his hair back with the newly wetted flannel, eyes welling up again.

Jack plopped the ice cubes into the bath, causing the Doctor to shiver and squirm away from the ghostly blocks beneath the water. "Don't let them get me, you've got to help!"

"I'm _trying_ to help Doctor. If you'd just hold still for a minute!"

The Doctor's shivers became more pronounced, and he hugged his knees against his chest. Jack turned off the tap, pushing the suddenly more submissive Doctor back into the water. The Timelord stilled for a moment, letting the freezing water lap over his body before blinking up at his companions as if only realising they were there.

He coughed, back spasming as he forced the air from his lungs. Jack let out a relieved sigh, bringing up the bag of frozen peas and laying it over the Doctor's head. He groaned in response, dark eyes flicking to his surroundings, "I'm… in the bath?" he inquired confusedly, "Jackie's bath?"

"You've got a fever Doctor, we've got to reduce your temperature." Jack explained, scooping up the icy water over the Doctor's shoulders.

The Doctor nodded, curling in on himself as his back shuddered against the rim of the tub, "Oh Jack… R-rose." His teeth chattered uncontrollably, "I'm s-so sorr-ry."

"Shh, Doctor, it's all right. You'll be fine. You've got us." Rose soothed. She couldn't help the ache in her heart as she looked at him, shivering and soaking.

"N-no… it's g-getting worse. Much w-worse."

Just what did he mean by that?

There was sudden creak and they all looked up as Jackie Tyler pushed open the bathroom door.

Her blue eyes widened as she took in the scene. There appeared to be a half-naked, shivering and bedraggled looking Doctor in her bathtub with a packet of thawing garden peas sliding slowly off his forehead.

Her ice cube tray lay forgotten and empty on the lino beneath her feet.

And to top it all off a flustered looking Jack and Rose looked up at her uncomfortably, dripping with water and looking, for all the world, like they'd been dragged through a bramble bush backwards.

She sighed, "Missed all the action then, did I?"

…

…

_Thanks so much for the people who added this to their favourites/alerts. It's nice to know people enjoy reading this load of drivel lol! More soon, hopefully x_


	4. Memories and Maladies

_Wow__, again, thanks so much for the feedback! And thanks especially to Aqua Mage. I'm really sorry about the wait, exams and all that to deal with – finished them now though! Woohoo! (dances) I hope you enjoy this. _

…

…

It was several minutes before the Doctor's fever was brought down to a suitable level, all the while he just sat in the tub shivering, trying to smile at Rose and Jack as they scooped the cold water around his shoulders.

"I brought some towels," Jackie said, holding up a bunch of fluffy white bath towels sympathetically.

The Doctor nodded in thanks, allowing Jack to pull him out of the bath. "What did you put me in there for," he added, teeth chattering. His attempt at trying to lighten the mood was disrupted as another shiver racked his frame; he wrapped his arms around himself weakly, "S-silly humans."

Jack ignored him, "Come on, we need to get you out of those clothes. You're soaking."

"You mean _I_ need to get me out of these clothes." The Doctor responded with a tired smile, not even having the energy to stand up properly as he leant heavily on Jack. He didn't know why he was saddened when Jack said nothing as the water seeped through his white shirt. He just held the Doctor securely, not even giving a jibe at having the Timelord practically falling on him. "And… I'm only soaking because you went and _dumped_ me in the bathtub."

"Doctor." Jack started seriously, holding the Timelord up as his feet struggled to find purchase in the wet flooring, "Where did you put the Tardis keys?"

"I didn't put them anywhere…" The Doctor didn't feel up to any interrogation right now, it was taking all he had just do keep his eyes open, "ask Rose for hers…. She always has her key... always."

Rose pulled her mouth down in concern, taking a towel from Jackie and draping it over the Doctor's shoulders. He sagged almost instantly, as the heat infused his numb body. Jackie must have taken the liberty of warming the towels first. He sighed gratefully, eyes closing despite his best efforts. She could be so thoughtful sometimes, it almost unnerved him.

Jack shook his head; the Doctor could feel the motion as his head drooped heavily onto the other man's chest. "Rose doesn't have her keys Doctor, you hid them." He explained, trying to hide the worry from his voice, "Can you tell me where they are?"

"Nope," the Doctor frowned, a hand going up to his head suddenly with a wince, "At least, I don't remember hiding them – did I hide them?" His voice grew soft, and he knew he was asking himself more than he was asking anyone else.

Jack sighed frustratedly, rubbing the Doctor's shoulders with the towel to warm him back up. The Doctor frowned, they'd gone through all that trouble of cooling him down and now they were making him all warm again. Made no sense. "Think for a moment." Jack continued, "If you were an absolutely _insane_ Timelord, and your friends were desperately trying to help you, where would you hide the keys to the only thing that could make you better?"

"I'm not insane." _At least, I don't think I am,_ he thought, a cold feeling that had nothing to do with the fact he was soaking through creeping its way into his stomach. Maybe he was. He couldn't remember where he'd hidden the keys or even that he'd hidden them at all, surely that couldn't be a good sign.

He looked up into Jack's concerned eyes with fear clouding in his own. Come to think of it, he didn't remember getting into the bathtub, or anything since he'd passed out in Jack's arms on what must have been yesterday night. Was he losing his mind?

"Doc?" He snapped his eyes up, not realising they'd drifted closed and he'd started shivering again. "Come on," the American said kindly, "It doesn't matter about the keys for now."

The Doctor shook his head, eyes lowered, "It does Jack. I'm getting worse." A sudden idea sparked through his cranium and he extracted himself from Jack's arms carefully, balancing against the sink. "I want to try something, but maybe we should get to Rose's bedroom first."

"Woah Doc, I never thought I'd say no to you, but I don't think you'll be up to it."

He laughed, it felt good to laugh, "Not _that_."

"Oh," Jack said disappointedly, "what then?"

…

Ten minutes later they were seated on Rose's bed, the Doctor having changed into a new pair of cotton pyjamas and now pondering where on earth Jackie got them all from. They couldn't _all_ be Howard's could they? Maybe he'd stumbled upon a secret Jackie Tyler fetish… Some things were best left unknown.

The Doctor sat forward, against the softness of the duvet and the warmth of the pyjamas (again with how thoughtful Jackie was, he couldn't look _that_ bad) he was beginning to feel incredibly sleepy. His dark eyes gazed sadly at his hands. With the way things were going there was no doubt that he needed the Tardis' help, he just wasn't about to go into his ship to get it for himself. She was too stubborn not to try and take this virus – whatever it was - back. Stubborn loyal old thing.

Not for the first time he wondered if taking this virus was the right thing to do, from the look on Jack and Rose's faces they obviously thought he was crazy. They were angry with him too. Angry because he hadn't told them what was wrong with the Tardis, angry for taking the virus, angry because for once he had no control over the situation and they were left on there own… and angry because he couldn't remember where he'd hidden the damn Tardis keys!

They had a right to be angry.

He smiled to himself, what were companions for anyway? At least, he had an idea for finding the keys - that had to count towards something. "Right," the Doctor started, "I want you to do something for me."

Jack raised an eyebrow at him from across the bed, inching closer. The Timelord breathed out methodically, reaching out and placing his pale fingers at the sides of Jack's forehead, eyes slipping closed.

"… What're you doing?" Jack inquired, "as much as I like having my forehead fondled by an ill alien… What the… Doc, you're in my head!"

"Hello." The Doctor said with a small smile. Inside his mind Jack could almost see him wave. "Now Jack, just because I can't remember where I've put the keys doesn't mean the memory isn't inside my head. All I need you to do is search my memories."

"Oh," Jack snorted, eyes closed and sarcasm evident, "Is that all?"

"See that door?"

Jack's mind was a cloudy haze, but he thought he could see a large rectangle of light just in front of him. "You mean that big glowing hole? Then yes."

"Step through it."

Jack did so, taking a breath as he hesitantly stepped into the light. He would have squinted his eyes against the harsh intensity of it, but remembered they were already closed - a weird sensation, if ever there was one. Then he was through… and almost immediately the pain hit. A sharp stabbing through his head caused him to double over - It was agony, so much _agony_. The Doctor felt this? He cried out, trying to resist the urge to fold in on himself.

"Jack!" and then suddenly, just as quickly as it had come, the pain was gone. Jack opened his eyes in surprise, to find himself still on the bed, bent over and gasping like he was doing a particularly good impression of a fish out of water. He blinked. The Doctor's hands were on his shoulders, trying to calm him. If possible, he looked even worse than before. "Jack, I'm sorry." The Timelord said quickly, eyes moist, "I didn't even think about you feeling it - it was a stupid thing to try."

Jack shook his head exasperatedly, "Let me back in, I wasn't finished."

"What?" the Doctor flinched as Jack snatched his fingers back up and positioned them on his forehead again.

The darkness came, and the door. He was ready this time as he stepped through, but the pain still clawed into his head and he didn't manage to stifle a gasp. "Sorry." He heard the Doctor whisper.

How exactly was he supposed to find something in the Doctor's mind anyway? No offense to him, but this place wasn't exactly orderly. There were objects, so many different things that Jack couldn't focus on any one at a time. He walked forwards, catching snatches of voices in the air; murmurs and singing and laughing and crying. A sudden flash of images. Was that a banana daiquiri? A smell of burning, smoke, exhaust fumes? Talking cats? It was giving him a headache, and he'd only just managed to get over the shooting pains.

"I don't know how to look." He said, squinting into the dark.

Another feeling brushed over him, different this time. _Lonely. So very alone, my lonely angel. Without a home. Lost._ Another layer of voices swept into his head, sad voices this time – goodbyes, and a deep aching when there hadn't been time for goodbyes. He felt tears prick at his eyes.

The Doctor let out a breath, and Jack could feel it on his cheek, so far away, "You're looking in the wrong place. Here."

And then Jack was looking in. Or should he say out. Looking out of the Doctor's eyes as he spun two sets of Tardis keys around his finger. It was the Tyler's kitchen, he could discern that much, but everything was layered in grey fuzz. He felt himself, as the Doctor, put a hand against his head as a dull throbbing erupted from it. Then a cupboard door was opening and a jar of – what was that? He squinted at the label. "In the jar of marmalade? Oh Doc, that's gross."

"Last place you'd look though," said the Doctor gasping slightly, "clever old me."

"Clever old you." Sure enough the Doctors fingers prodded the two keys into the jar, screwing the lid shut tight and shoving it back into the cupboard. He just managed to close the cupboard door before his knees collapsed from under him. Another wave of pain, and Jack gritted his teeth, "Ow, let me out already… How do you stand it?" he gasped out. The scene dissolved from his sight as the Doctor withdrew his fingers an apologetic frown on his face.

"Sorry Jack." He said quietly.

The ex-time agent took a moment to get his breath back, the absence of pain so relieving he didn't want to move. The room swam back into focus, as did the Doctor, paler, and even more tired looking than before. "I'll get the jar…" was all Jack could think to say. He didn't know how to bring up the loneliness he'd felt while he was inside the Doctor's head. Maybe he shouldn't mention it at all. The Doctor blinked darkened eyes at him in thanks, as he headed out of the door.

Now, what was the best way of getting marmalade off keys..?

…

"Mmmfmm…" the Doctor mumbled, blinking exhaustedly as he woke. He frowned in surprise at his surroundings, finding himself slumped out on the living room sofa under a heap of blankets and pillows wasn't exactly what he was expecting. He didn't fall asleep here did he? No. No - He was on the bed in Rose's room with Jack and then… something about a jar? He frowned, remembering. Jack had gone to get the Tardis keys, which the Doctor had wittily hidden in a jar of marmalade. A stroke of genius on his part, he had to admit.

He groaned slightly, rubbing his face with the heel of his hand as the headache that had plagued him came back full throttle. It didn't explain the move to the sofa though.

Rassilon, he was so tired.

He knew that this wasn't right, that he'd only just woken and shouldn't be feeling the need to sleep for another week at least – he was a Timelord after all. But the comforting realms of sleep were already lapping over his head. Like a soothing cool wave. The pillows were so soft under his head, he could just sink down…. sink…

Rose blew on her cup of coffee before taking a sip. Gazing over at the Doctor as his eyes slipped closed again. He'd seemed pretty out of it when they helped him to the sofa. Insisting he be in the living room, because Rose's bed was too lumpy. Or something like that. Jackie had mothered him adequately, ensuring he had enough quilts to line the entire Tardis with, and he'd been in and out of consciousness ever since.

She sat on the edge of the sofa and gazed at the odd blue box next to the television, she couldn't help but fine herself wondering if they'd ever travel again. Jack was in there now, tinkering away most likely, trying to find something that could help the Doctor. She crossed her fingers before taking another sip of coffee.

"You know, I don't think he's ever gonna move that bleedin' ship of his." Jackie grumbled, nursing her own mug of brown stuff and slumping down on the chair opposite, "and Howard's comin' round today and all."

"What?" Rose's eyes snapped up at that, "Howard can't come round mum! Have you _seen_ the Doctor lately?"

A muffled "I'm _fine_." erupted from the mound of duvet covers on the sofa.

Jackie turned to the sofa with a half frown. Well the Doctor seemed coherent at least, it was a bit of an improvement. "Hmm, anyone with 'alf a brain can see you're not fine. I ought to Ring Howard…"

The covers parted slightly, and Rose could see the scruffy brown hair of the Doctor emerge over the mound. "No." came the not so muffled reply, "I'd like to meet him… anyone who can put up with you for an extended amount of time must be really brave."

She would have batted him had he not looked so ill. As it was he could hardly breathe properly, and was currently trying to lift a heavy arm and push back the covers that formed a cushioned barrier between his lungs and the oxygen. Jackie watched him struggle for a moment with frustrated eyes, before she tugged the bloody duvet back herself.

The Doctor sighed in relief, gave her a groggy smile and then went limp. Head falling back with a muffled thump against the sofa arm. "I think he just fainted love." Jackie called over her shoulder.

"Not again." Rose said concern moistening her eyes. She hurried over to the motionless Timelord, hand at the ready to take his temperature. "He doesn't feel that hot… Doctor? Come on, it's me. Wake up."

The Doctor opened his dark eyes blearily, squinting up into her face, "Sarah?" he murmured hesitantly.

Rose fought to keep the sadness out of her voice. Not again, please not again. "No, it's Rose remember?"

"Rose… How could I forget." He continued sleepily, eyes closing and head slumping heavily backwards.

"No Doctor, don't go to sleep! Please, come on just stay with me for a little longer."

Jackie looked at her daughter, sympathy evident in her over eyelinered eyes, "It's not gonna work love, he's out for the count. You can let him sleep can't you?"

She didn't know whether letting him sleep was such a good thing after all. Every time he woke he became a little less coherent, he took longer and longer to remember where he was - _who_ he was. It scared her more than anything else that one time when he woke he might not remember anything at all. He might not remember her. Rose extracted the Doctor's hand from beneath the duvet and clutched it in both of hers, "Remember when we met?"

"No."

He'd sounded so honest, it hurt. She carried on, ignoring her mother as she tried to dissuade her, "Yeah you do, in the shop remember? With those crazy shop window dummies. You saved me from them, from here. Then I saved you."

"You saved me." He breathed for a moment, before giving her hand a comforting squeeze, "I remember," he said, "'course I do."

She smiled, eyes glittering. "Jack should be back soon, he'll make you all better. You've just got to keep awake for a little longer alright?"

"Easier said than…" the Doctor clenched his eyes shut tighter suddenly, hand squeezing hers rigidly, "Rose? I – I think I'm going to be sick."

Rose's eyes widened, but before she could think of what to do the Doctor had shoved back the mountain of blankets and stood up. He teetered forward, between Jackie's shout of "don't you dare let him throw up on my carpet!" and the Doctor's untimely descent to the ground, Rose only just managed to catch him.

He breathed raggedly, forcing the air into his chest as he tried his best to fight an overwhelming feeling of nausea. The room spun dizzily, and he grasped onto Rose because to him she was the only thing in the room that was still.

Breathe in. Out. Breathe in, then out.

Rose rubbed his back soothingly as they sat together on the floor, the Doctor panting and resting his head in the crook of her shoulder, his fingers grasping at hers. His breathing began to slow after a while, and she held him, murmuring soothing words and smoothing his hair back from his hot forehead as her t-shirt front began to get suspiciously wet.

The Doctor never cried, she reminded herself, and he wasn't crying now.

"Feel better?" she asked quietly.

The Doctor laughed a little, squeezing his eyes shut at the stabbing pain it sent through his chest, "I feel _awful_."

Of course he felt awful. And there was nothing any of them could do about it. She put her arms around him comfortingly, rubbing little circles on his back as he burrowed his head into her shoulder, "Still feel sick?"

"No." He exhaled shakily, "Rose... I…" he shook his head a little, hugging her back, "thank you."

…

…

_Feel free to leave a review__, or send me a message, or email me - or anything really. I'll try to write more soon. Thanks for reading x_


	5. Worse

_A__h, reviews are wonderful things. Thanks to Emela for the poking. _

…

…

Jack patted the Tardis console affectionately, "I know he's pretty thick for a 900 year old Timelord, but he really needs your help. We have to to find out what's wrong with him… what was wrong with you." _Talking to a machine again Jack, _his mind tutted at him, _you've lost it_. But he needed all the help he could get, and the comforting murmur of the Tardis engines reminded him of his old ship. Admittedly his old ship could talk back, _But if it works for the Doctor…_ "Could you tell me where the med bay is?" he asked experimentally.

The Tardis hummed beneath his feet, and the doors to his right buzzed open. He was a little startled, and jerked a clarifying thumb at the doors, "this way?" he asked. The Tardis thrummed in reply, which he took for a yes.

He could almost feel her sigh in gratitude when he stepped through the doorway; heading in the direction his feet guided him.

The Tardis did her best; Jack would almost swear that she flickered lights on, as if marking a trail for him to follow. The corridors seemed to have changed as well, shorter, almost sloping downwards. He easily ran the length and, in no time at all, found his way into the med bay.

Jack sighed, finding himself at home amongst the technology, and marveling at how much junk the Doctor had managed to accumulate over the centuries. Sure, most of this stuff he didn't even recognise, but most of it looked like it was bungled together from a toaster and a pair of tongs.

_The old fashioned way is always the best_, he reasoned. If he couldn't scan the Doctor because he was too stubborn to get his butt in here, then he'd just have to take some of the Timelord's blood and scan it into the mainframe. Maybe then they'd find out how on earth he'd gotten so sick in the first place, and more importantly, how they could cure him. Snatching a pad of antiseptic and a sterilized syringe, he turned on his heel.

The sooner he did this the better.

…

"Doc?" Jack stepped out of the Tardis easily, swinging the door shut and widening his eyes as he took in Rose and the limp frame of the Doctor sprawled out on the living room floor. "Err, everything all right?" he asked with an eyebrow raised. "Did I miss out on all the action again?"

Rose nodded, inclining her head slightly to the Doctor who lay slumped in her arms. "He just… he's all right." She said softly, still holding the Timelord close to her, despite the fact he was obviously unconscious. There were drying wet marks on Rose's top, from where the Doctor's head had been cradled, but Jack merely eyed them for a moment and said nothing. "Did you find anything?" Rose asked in a hushed voice.

Jack held up the syringe menacingly, "Need some blood."

"He's not gonna let you take any." Rose answered, dark eyes flicking from the needle to the sleeping Timelord.

The Doctor had always been adamant that no needles were going into him, and no bodily fluids coming out. Unless he was the one doing it of course. But seeing as he wasn't in the land of the living right now…

The menacing look on the ex- time agent's face deepened, "Well… he doesn't have to know, does he?" he said as knelt quietly beside Rose, rolling the unresisting Doctor over and frowning slightly at his paleness.

"He said he felt sick earlier," Rose told him anxiously, "I think the symptoms are getting worse."

Jack sighed, so they may have to deal with a grumpy Doctor when he woke up. If taking some blood could save his life, then he really couldn't care less. Grumpy Doctor or no.

Without another thought he stuck the needle into the Timelord's forearm and drew a small amount of blood. The red fluid filled the syringe easily, "That'll do for now Rosie," he whispered, as if sure the Doctor would wake up any second and give him hell with the sonic screwdriver. But of course, he didn't. Just lay peacefully sleeping, while Jack removed the syringe and stood up. "I'll go get it analysed." He gave Rose a wink, "And hey, no funny business while I'm gone. I always end up missing out on the good stuff!"

…

The Doctor woke with a strange throbbing in his arm; he frowned, shifting to take the weight off the offending limb. He must have landed oddly when… what had happened? He opened his eyes, blinking unsteadily.

The nausea was growing again, and he groaned hunching over where he sat. He was so dizzy.

So dizzy, so tired, so unexplainably _ill_.

Where was that human… the girl… the flower… he shook his head frustratedly, why wasn't his brain working properly? His vision spun faster and he gripped the carpet beneath him with white fingers. Rose? Was that her name? She made him feel better, she always did. She could help; she could take away the pain. "Rose?" he choked out. "Rose?"

"Doctor, what is it?" And suddenly she was there beside him, smoothing back the hair from his forehead in that relaxing way, her fingers cool and calm against his skin.

Had she been there all along? "Rose…" he mumbled, a million thoughts tumbling inside the mess that was his mind. Rose could help, she could make sense of it all. He'd just tell her. If only he could get his thoughts in order… What was it he wanted to say? "I want another bath," he garbled, having a strange feeling that that wasn't what he wanted to say at all, "that was nice, but with a duck this time, it's more fun."

Rose just looked at him sadly. "We can get you another bath when Jack gets back.'

"Mm, bath…" he muttered. No, not bath at all, something else. "And why do I feel sick?" His eyelids were inexplicably heavy, and he frowned, "My arm hurts. Did I sleep on it?"

"You must have done."

And for some reason that simple sentence made him sit up.

Rose had never been too good with lying; it was one thing that stuck in his mind. Rose + Lies destruction of small planet. So he could conclude that his arm hurt for an entirely different reason than him having slept on it, and she didn't want him to know about it. He opened his eyes fully, centering his attention on Rose who was still fussing over his hair for some reason and avoiding his gaze.

He focused his thoughts. He needed to know why his arm hurt.

"Why does my arm hurt Rose?" Her fingers continued their idle fiddling of his hair, and he wondered what on earth it looked like now that Rose had taken her anxiety out on it. The young human girl pretended not to have heard him, and he found that odd cold feeling of unease settle into his stomach again.

He took the opportunity to examine the damage, pulling the pyjama sleeve up his forearm hastily and inspecting the skin with dark eyes. There was an unmistakable puncture mark, and the skin around the small hole was slightly inflamed, leading him to believe that his companions were incredibly stupid and had taken a sample of his blood without his permission.

His expression darkened, and he could feel Rose stiffen beside him. His voice was cold. "Where's Jack?"

…

The Doctor burst into the med bay with all the force of raging Cyberman.

He was angry, Jack could tell that much, still clad in white and blue striped pyjamas and trembling as he made his way over to the ex time agent.

Jack never wanted 'that' look directed at him, that was the look the Doctor reserved for crazed egocentric aliens, and emotionless human beings threatening to take over the planet, and Daleks, and murderers, but definitely _not_ him. His gaze was smouldering, dark and furious. It was terrifying. The whole of the universe's anger was coiling in those eyes, and it made Jack's hair stand on end. He made a mental note never to get on the wrong side of the Doctor ever again, even if he _was_ trying to save his life.

Jack lifted his head doing his best to look surprised, "I thought you said you weren't going to come in here?"

Maybe he could play it safe. Escort the Doctor out. Pretend he hadn't done anything wrong. Yeah right.

"Jack," the Doctor panted, eyes hot and dark with anger, "for someone who's lived as long as you have, you are _incredibly_ stupid!"

Jack blinked, and then frowned. "Hey now, I haven't -"

But the Doctor just jumped right in.

"You took my blood! How could you do that? I warned you not to, I told you about the Tardis. You've got to stop." The anger was fading now from the Doctor's eyes, and the exhaustion returning. Jack could see it in the slump of the Doctor's shoulders and the way his hands were shaking as he gripped the med-bay bed for support. "You're an _idiot_."

"Well I'm sorry if we're concerned about you." Jack retorted angrily, "How did you think we were going to help if we didn't have something to work on?"

"Jack. The Tardis." The Doctor started, but he didn't get very far. He leant heavily on the bed, gasping for breath as white hot needles of pain worked their way through his head.

And just like that the world started to dissolve before his eyes.

Strong hands on his arms, holding him up.

An American accent, half scared, half angry, swirling.

It was so hazy, so fuzzy like static on a radio.

He clawed his way back. Opening his eyes wide as if that would stop them from closing again. He was on the med bay bed, shivering and curled in on himself, and

Jack was hovering over him uncertainly.

This was all wrong, he had to stop this!

"Jack… have you scanned my…blood yet?" The Doctor managed, grabbing hold of the other man's hands to stop his fussing. Why did humans always insist on fussing? There were more important thing to deal with. "Have you started to scan my blood?" He asked more urgently. Maybe there was still hope, if Jack hadn't -

"Yeah, the Tardis' databanks are analyzing it."

It was too late.

"No. Get it out of there. _Please_." The words barely left his lips before the Tardis groaned. A deep echoing groaning that reverberated through the flooring. The Doctor squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head.

"What?" Jack asked, perplexed, "What is it?"

Humans. So stupid. They'd never understand. "Jack, the virus was in my blood. The Tardis... She's taken it."

"But how can that help? That just makes both of you sick!"

"She's trying to make a cure." His voice was soft, impossibly dark eyes scanning the ceiling above him, "She's taken my blood, she's taken the virus, her databanks are in overdrive trying to make a cure. Can't you feel it?" he breathed, "She's in pain. She's trying to help, but she's just going to end up killing the both of us. Silly thing." He closed his eyes, "Silly old thing."

"What do you mean she's taken the virus? Doctor?" When the Doctor failed to respond, Jack grasped his shoulder and shook him lightly, "Doctor? You still with me?" He wasn't. Jack tried to quell the growing feeling of panic in his stomach. The Tardis had taken the virus back, and even if that wasn't his intention it was still his fault.

He shook the Doctor again, "Doctor please, tell me what to do!" The Doctor's head lolled forward, his face extremely pale and skin warm under Jack's fingers. "Tell me what to do!" He pleaded, knowing that the Doctor most definitely couldn't hear him.

Jack gritted his teeth. It was his fault. He didn't know what to do. There was nothing he _could_ do. Except wait. Wait for the Tardis to come up with a cure, wait for the Doctor to wake up.

How did this happen? He'd just managed to make things worse.

The Tardis groaned, lights flickering and dimming above Jack's head. The machinery sparked and hissed, Jack swore loudly, realising that if they didn't get out of here soon, they wouldn't be getting out at all.

And then there was a voice, inside his head. A soft calming voice. It didn't speak, there weren't any words, but Jack could feel it. It was telling him to get out. _Help the Doctor, take him with you, get him out._ It seemed to say.

He glanced around him, was he going crazy? "What?"

_T__ake the Doctor, get him out._ A whisper on the edge of his mind.

Jack closed his eyes tight for a moment, thinking. He knew he had to get the Doctor out of here, but there had to be something here that could help.

He raided some of the cupboards for medical supplies, plastic wrappers and cotton buds flying. If they couldn't _cure_ the Doctor at least maybe they could bring down his fever, make him comfortable, take away some of the pain. He growled at the thoughts in his head, he didn't want to make the Timelord _comfortable_, he wanted to get him well again! But all he'd managed to do was aid the Tardis into dying as well.

This was ridiculous!

He snatched a few bottles of what he assumed was medication, labeled with some ridiculously long names and symbols. The Doctor could tell him which ones could help when he woke up.

If he woke up.

He bent and lifted the Doctor as if he were cradling a toddler; the Doctor's head rested on his shoulder, and Jack noted the heat radiating off him with concern.

Another bout of fever.

…

…

_Thanks for all the feedback, and I am so incredibly sorry for the ridiculously long wait for this chapter. And also sorry for the shortness of it, and the crapness, let's be honest. T__hanks for reading. _


End file.
